The absence of legal representation for Abdulmalik Tanko, who allegedly kidnapped and killed his five-year-old pupil, Hanifa Abubakar, in Kano, stalled the court case on Monday.
Tanko and his two accomplices, Hashimu Isyaku and Fatima Jibrin, are standing trial before the High Court 6, Kano, presided over by Justice Usman Na-Abba.
They were charged with criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, concealing/keeping in confinement a kidnapped person and culpable homicide contrary to sections 97, 274, 277 and 221 of the Penal Code.
When the accused persons were brought to court on Monday, they had no legal representation.
The state counsel, who is also Kano State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Musa Lawan, prayed the court to decide if the proceedings should go ahead, because it appeared that the accused persons did not have lawyers.
Justice Na-Abba then asked the defendants if they could engage the service of a lawyer or want the state government to provide one for them.
The three suspects said they could not hire a lawyer and therefore requested legal representation from the state.
Lawan then prayed to the court to adjourn the matter till February 14 to enable the state to provide lawyers for the accused persons as they requested.
The judge granted the state counsel’s prayer and adjourned till Monday, February 14, 2022, for the continuation of trial when the accused persons would be assigned legal representation.
Lawan also informed the court of the application to substitute the charges filed by the state against the accused persons on February 1 with the one filed on February 2, a prayer that was granted by the judge.
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